Data from: Genetic divergence is decoupled from ecological diversification in the Hawaiian Nesosydne planthoppers

Adaptive radiation involves ecological shifts coupled with isolation of gene pools. However, we know little about what drives the initial stages of divergence. We study a system in which ecological diversification is found within a chronologically well-defined geological matrix to provide insight into this enigmatic phase of radiation. We tested the hypothesis that a period of geographic isolation precedes ecological specialization in an adaptive radiation of host-specialized Hawaiian planthoppers. We examined population structure and history using mitochondrial and multiple independent microsatellite loci in a species whose geographic distribution on the island of Hawaii enabled us to observe the chronology of divergence in its very earliest stages. We found that genetic divergence is associated with geographic features but not different plant hosts and that divergence times are very recent and on the same timescales as the dynamic geology of the island. Our results suggest an important role for geography in the dynamics of the early stages of divergence.

适应辐射（Adaptive radiation）指伴随基因库隔离的生态转型过程。然而，目前学界对驱动物种分化初始阶段的核心机制仍知之甚少。我们选取了一个时序明确的地质框架下的生态多样化系统，以期为阐明这一难以解释的辐射演化阶段提供研究洞见。针对宿主特化的夏威夷蜡蝉的适应辐射场景，我们检验了"地理隔离阶段先于生态特化出现"这一假说。我们选取一种在夏威夷岛的地理分布范围适宜观测分化早期阶段时序的物种，利用线粒体位点（mitochondrial loci）与多个独立微卫星位点（microsatellite loci），对其种群结构与演化历史展开分析。研究结果显示，遗传分化与地理特征显著相关，但与不同宿主植物并无关联；且分化时间极近，与该岛活跃的地质演化时间尺度完全一致。本研究结果表明，地理因素在物种分化早期阶段的动态过程中发挥了至关重要的作用。